


Look at that sun, look at that sky, oh no I have to plan a proposal for this guy

by one_true_houselight



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: IT'S GAY, M/M, because ASL should be more widespread, but it's also Good to KNow, it's a dakavendish proposal, it's fluffy, let's go, perry uses ASL, primarily for accessibility, proposal, there's some murphy's law antics, there's some zoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:01:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26473819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_true_houselight/pseuds/one_true_houselight
Summary: Dakota and Cavendish decide it's high time they got married. But how do you propose to the person you love the most?
Relationships: Balthazar Cavendish/Vinnie Dakota
Comments: 13
Kudos: 51





	Look at that sun, look at that sky, oh no I have to plan a proposal for this guy

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO HI! I fell headfirst into this show (and back into PNF), and I love my gay time travel uncles. Because, see, I would die for the kids, and they're very good, but there's just something about the disaster gay adults careening through the universe who basically have two rules which are 1. we are doing our best send help and 2. gotta protect children that just realllly resonates with me for absolutely NO REASON. So I'm having them propose. Have fun!

Cavendish and Dakota were sitting in their office, having a very important conversation. 

“Would it be motel-ffice? Moffice? Office-tel?” Dakota had acquired a bouncy ball and was bouncing it off the ceiling. 

“It’s just an office, Dakota." As Dakota started to interrupt, Cavendish sighed and interjected, "No, it does not 'look' like a motel, Dakota. And would you stop that incessant banging?”

“What? I’m just playing- _ouch_.” His hand flew up to his nose, the ball rolling under the couch. 

“I feel no sympathy for you.” Cavendish ignored Dakota continuing to mutter in pain, instead finishing reading the report they had been sent earlier in the day. As he put down the paper, he was surprised to see that Dakota was sitting up now, his nose still a little red. He looked like he wanted to say something. Cavendish had known him long enough to know he would just start talking, and Dakota knew that if Cavendish needed him to be quiet, he would say something. They knew each other's rhythms like a song from childhood, something they could hum or tap without thinking, yet if someone asked them to explain, they would mutter something about ‘that’s just how Dakota is’, or ‘it’s Cavendish, what’re ya gonna do’. 

“I was thinking. Which I know is unusual.”

“No, you thinking isn’t the unusual thing. It’s simply that you don’t act on the things you think about.” Dakota waved his hand in acknowledgment before continuing. 

"Well, I was thinking...it sure seems like we're kinda stuck. Here. Well, _now_ , is more accurate." Cavendish shifted uncomfortably at that, causing Dakota to backtrack, "Not that I don't want to try and get our time travel privileges back, I think that's something we should do-" _because I can't save you right now_. Dakota shook himself out of the familiar thought and found his point again. "But I don't think that means we can't plan with what we have, ya know?"

Cavendish nodded thoughtfully. "What kind of planning did you have in mind?" There was a much longer pause than usual. "Dakota?"

"Do ya wanna get married?" Cavendish stared at him. "It's allowed and all that, we got in just in time, and-"

"Are you proposing to me?"

"Well-"

" _In our dusty office?_ "

"No! Course not, I've got something...well not planned, exactly, but it's in the...starting stages. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. Didn't want to plan it all out, pull out all the stops, just for you to say no, and-" He took a breath, trying to calm down before continuing. “It’s good to check in.”

Cavendish nodded thoughtfully. “Indeed. It’s funny, I always thought I’d be the one proposing.”

“I mean, you still can. We can both do it, s’more that way.” 

“Hm. You may be right.”

“I know I’m right.” Cavendish scoffed. “Hey, I'm right pretty often!” 

“I wouldn’t call the often pretty-hey!” Cavendish threw his hands up as Dakota threw the ball at him, newly retrieved from under the couch. “Was that really necessary?”

As Cavendish tossed the ball back, Dakota grinned. “Just because something isn’t necessary doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen.”

~~~~~~~~

Milo, Melissa, and Zack were sitting in Milo’s backyard working on math homework when there was a knock at the gate. They looked up to see a familiar green top hat atop a familiar face. "Cavendish?"

"Yes, hello Milo, Milo's friends. I was, er, wondering if your parents were around?"

Milo shook his head. "Nope, they're table shopping. What do you need?"

Still on the other side of the gate, Cavendish scratched his head. "Well, I had a question for them, given that they are married and all…"

"Having problems with Dakota?" Zack asked. Cavendish blushed a little.

"No, not problems. It's that we're, well, _not_ married yet, and I want to ask him, and…"

"Ah," Melissa mused. "You need help with a proposal."

"Precisely."

"Well, we can help you, Cavendish!" Milo said, gesturing at him to come into the backyard. Seeing his hesitation, Milo added, "We once helped our friend Scott date our teacher. We've got this romance thing on lock."

"I was the lead singer of a boy band. That has to count for something," said Zack, doing some of the _Chop, Chop, Chop_ dance in his seat.

Cavendish seemed to consider this, then opened the gate. Well, tried to, at least. When he pushed it, rather than swinging open, it just fell onto the grass with a resigned thud. Milo hopped up, already reaching into his backpack. "Don't worry, that happens all the time. You come sit down."

Zack jumped up and dragged another chair into their informal circle, and Cavendish carefully sat down. Melissa had pulled out a notebook to take notes. "Well," started Cavendish, "I'm just struggling to come up with a proposal that will be proper for Dakota. I can be a bit…"

"Stuffy?"

" _Old Fashioned_ ," retorted Cavendish, narrowing his eyes at Melissa. "And I suppose, I feel like I need to be more spontaneous."

"I mean, spontaneity is something that can be fun, and good for your character I guess," said Milo hesitantly, walking back from fixing the gate. "But I'm sure Dakota would be happy with whatever you did."

Cavendish snorted. "That's true, I suppose. I could propose with one of those lollipop rings and he'd like it."

Melissa looked up from her scribbling. "A ring pop isn't a bad idea, actually."

"I'm not proposing to Dakota with a ring pop." Melissa shrugged and went back to writing. 

"What kinds of things does Dakota like?" asked Zack.

"Food. Ridiculous jokes. Animals-oh!" Cavendish sat straight up, which surprised the kids given that he had seemed to have perfect posture before. "The zoo! Of course, I'll take him to the zoo, and do zoo-like things."

"See, that's a great idea. Let me check my farmer's almanac for good weather patterns to plan the day," sais Milo, reaching into his backpack. As he found the book, Zack started humming a familiar tune. Milo and Melissa started singing with him. 

" _We're going to the zoo, we're going to the zoo, and then we're gonna see-_ "

Cavendish simultaneously felt like rolling his eyes and a fondness for both the kids and, of course, the song's author. Rather than get into those feelings, however, he simply murmured, "I can't believe he's got you all singing that too."

"Hey, it's catchy. And I know catchy," joked Zack. Milo, who had been scanning the almanac, pointed at a date. 

"Two Saturdays from now is supposed to have a rare warm front, bringing some unseasonably warm weather. Should be good for this."

Melissa saw Cavendish's panicked look. "Is that too soon?"

"It is rather close…" Cavendish nodded after a moment of thought. "But I think I can make it work." He stood up at this point, clearly lost in thought. 

“Let us know if you need help!” called Zack. 

“I wanna throw flowers at the wedding,” added Milo. 

Melissa pulled some paper from her pocket. “I can officiate.” The assembled group stared at her. 

“You can officiate weddings?”

“You carry the paperwork with you?” Cavendish stared at Zack. 

“That’s what you’re focused on?”

Zack raised an eyebrow. “Have you met Melissa?” Melissa pointed at Zack and nodded. Cavendish shook his head, thanked the kids, and headed off to plan. 

Only a few minutes later, there was another knock at the gate. This time, however, the knocker just pushed the gate, leading to it once again falling to the ground, the thud somehow more resigned than the last. Dakota stood there, staring at the gate. "Uh. Sorry about that."

"It's alright. What're you doing here, Dakota?" Milo asked, pulling out his screwdriver again. 

"I wanted to ask you all for some advice. You got a second?"

Milo, Melissa, and Zack looked at each other. "Sure. We even have a chair." Melissa smacked Zack, but it didn't seem like Dakota found this fact weird. 

"Convenient!" 

As Milo fixed the gate again, he called out, "Sorry about that. Murphy's Law."

"It's all good, kid. Is that why you've got a tree full of pencils?" Dakota asked, pointing at the pile of number 2s next to Milo's chair.

"Yeah. The points tend to snap...somewhat often."

"I've always wondered why you don't use mechanical pencils," said Zack.

"I try not to use things that contain springs unless necessary."

Dakota nodded. "Good ol' Murphy's Law." He then sat there, clearly trying to find a way to broach the topic at hand. 

"You doing alright, Dakota?" asked Zack. Milo noticed that Melissa had perked up a little, and was watching Dakota intently. 

"Well, uh...you see, I've been thinking about proposing to Cavendish."

"Oh, cool!" Milo felt his phone vibrate as he rejoined the group, but ignored it. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, therein the problem lies, Milo. I…" As Dakota collected his thoughts, Milo's phone vibrated again. "I'm worried that anything I do isn't good enough for Cavendish, ya know?" He started rummaging in his pockets. Suddenly, something hit Milo in the head. He looked over to see Melissa pointing aggressively at her phone. He signed _wait_ as Dakota found what he was looking for: a small box. 

"I, uh, don't have a whole lot else planned out, but I did get this made." He opened the box to show a ring. It was made of a light-colored wood, and had what looked like leaves made of metal on the band. "It's not much."

"I think it looks great," said Zack. "Where was it made?" As the conversation continued, Milo finally pulled out his phone to see messages from Melissa. 

**WE GOTTA MAEK THEM PROPSE ON THE SAME DAY**

He looked up to see her grinning, and shot a grin back. 

"It was made on an island of mes," Dakota was explaining. "See, the metal is the bottlecaps from the soda. And that's the problem, isn't it?"

"It is?" asked Milo.

"You have an island of yous?" asked Zack. 

"Oh yeah, I kept going back in time to save Cavendish so much, I had to populate an island with the alternate mes to prevent a paradox."

Zack stared at Dakota. "What?"

"Well, I think that Cavendish will like it _because_ you made it," said Melissa. 

"I mean, probably, yeah. But sometimes I worry-"

"Are we just skipping the whole 'island of Dakotas' thing? Is that what we're doing?" cried Zack.

"Yeah, yeah," said Melissa, waving her hand dismissively. "It's super romantic, we know."

"That's not what I-I mean, it is, yeah, wow, you went back to save him a bunch, very good-"

"Right? I think it was very chivalrous of me."

"-But you just have a whole island? Of you?"

Dakota shrugged. "It's Cavendish, what're ya gonna do?" Zack, clearly realizing no one else was phased by the conversation, sat back in his chair.

“But seriously, Dakota, what are you worried about?”

Dakota sighed. “I'm kind of a nonchalant guy, and I don't want him to think I'm nonchalant about this."

"I don't think that at all. You two clearly care about each other, and I'm pretty sure you both know it." Dakota smiled a little at that, but started looking pensive again. 

"I know you're right, and I think the relationship as a whole will be fine, it's just this proposal. It should be something special!"

The kids looked at each other, realizing they were reaching the same problem as before; the two men clearly had gotten the idea in their head that they needed to make this proposal 'different' somehow, and the kids figured that gently guiding them to a middle ground would do better than just yelling at the wall they currently faced. 

"Alright," said Zack. "What kinds of things does Cavendish like?"

"Tea. Rules." Dakota thought for a second. "He's got a noble streak a mile wide, he wants to save people. And he-" Dakota's eyes widened. "Puzzles! That new escape room thing downtown, I'd bet he'd love that!"

"And I think that one has a room where you're a detective team trying to save kidnapped people, I think it's even the one meant for two people," said Zack.

“I think that’s a great idea,” exclaimed Melissa. “Hey Milo, can you check your almanac for a good day to do it?”

“I don’t think the weather matters that much, it's inside-” Dakota tried to interject. 

“No, no,” said Milo, grabbing the book again, “you don’t want to be hamstrung by bad weather.” He flipped through the book, and pointed at a date. “Two Saturdays from now is supposed to be nice.”

Zack looked up, confused. “Isn’t that-“ 

“-a wonderful day to propose, yes Zack.” She glared at him, and he seemed to get the point. Dakota did not seem to notice, instead clearly contemplating the date. 

“That’s pretty soon…but I think I can make it work.” He stood up and started heading out, but stopped when Milo called out.

"We're happy to help. Though I'm curious; why ask us?"

Dakota shrugged. "I know you all best. I've only spoken to your parents like, twice. Besides, he was in some kind of boy band," explained Dakota, pointing at Zack. "Doesn't that make him some kind of expert?"

Even though it was clear Dakota was mostly joking, Zack still pointed at him and said, "See, I told you!"

Everyone chuckled and Dakota left. Once he was safely out of earshot, Melissa exclaimed, “This is gonna be so cool!”

“Did we tell them to propose on the same day on purpose?” asked Zack. Milo and Melissa nodded. “What could go wrong?”

“Quite a lot, actually.”

“Thank you, Milo.” Melissa sighed. “I think we should help them. Secretly, of course."

"Because we made them propose on the same day?"

"No, that was brilliant. We need to help them because they're clearly feeling insecure, and I want to make sure this goes ok." Milo and Zack nodded, making Melissa grin. "Operation Proposal, boom!"

~~~~~~~

The day came quickly, but Cavendish felt he had everything in order. He had casually broached the idea of going to the zoo today, and Dakota had excitedly agreed; it was a testament to their relationship that Cavendish didn't decide to call off his plans after Dakota came up with no fewer than 17 new verses for the zoo song within the hour. Dakota had also mentioned he had wanted to try out a new escape room that day, which Cavendish agreed to. Once Dakota had explained the concept, it sounded fun, and it would also provide a bit of a smokescreen to the proposal. 

As they took the bus downtown, they were talking about their assignment the previous week, easily missing the three kids tailing the bus on their bikes. 

“I can’t believe someone called in a coat hanger wrapped in bubble wrap as alien trash,” complained Dakota. 

“We were out there for five hours in the pouring rain,” muttered Cavendish. “I’m surprised I didn’t get frostbite.” 

“Well,” said Dakota, “it’s ah, it’s warmer today.” Blithely oblivious of Dakota’s almost forced casualness, Cavendish nodded in agreement. As if to make sure it was still there, he felt the small lump in his inner jacket pocket. 

Choosing a ring had been difficult, especially with little time and fewer resources. But he’d eventually broken down and went to Milo once again, who had helped him navigate this time’s internet to find a small online shop. 

He'd eventually decided on a gold-plated ring with animal heads worked into the band to match the 'theme' of the zoo, It had only gotten there the day before, an arrival heralded by Dakota yelling 'Mail!' and tossing it to him. His heart hadn't slowed down to a workable pace for at least 20 minutes. But now he was here, on a bus to the zoo, and he was desperately trying not to show the hurricane of emotions swirling in his chest.

At the zoo, Cavendish produced the tickets he'd gotten online and they made their way inside. Dakota immediately made a beeline for the cotton candy stand. "Really?" remarked Cavendish. 

"What? I gotta get fueled up for the zoo!" called Dakota. "Want a lemonade?" 

"I suppose." Dakota finished paying and brought over a cup of lemonade, which Cavendish took. 

"Where are we going first?" asked Dakota, already almost halfway done with the cotton candy.

"Um." As Cavendish looked around, he realized that in all his planning, he had forgotten how little he really knew about the zoo. He saw a signpost with a number of pictures of animals, and picked one at random. "That way."

"Ooh, the lemurs! Good choice! Did you know that Danville has an aye-aye exhibit? They're one of the most endangered lemurs on the planet, they're nocturnal, and-" As Dakota chattered excitedly about the lemurs, Cavendish realized that even if he didn't know a lot about the zoo, Dakota did, and that was the whole point, right? Getting to see someone you love talk about and experience something they loved? Today was going to be a good day. 

~~~~~~~~

Milo, Melissa, and Zack arrived at the zoo just in time to see Cavendish and Dakota heading for the lemur exhibit. "Well, it looks like things are going alright so far," commented Milo. 

"Yeah. What should we do now?" 

"Probably stay in the zoo, just in case," suggested Melissa. 

"But maybe try to stay a little far away, because, well," said Milo, gesturing to himself. The other two nodded, and they walked in the opposite direction of the time travellers, towards the reptile room. 

Inside the cool building, the kids wandered around, looking at the different terrariums. Milo stopped in front of one and called the other two back to look at it. "This is the Dutch Singing Gecko. Its singing is at the exact right frequency to break glass." They looked inside to see the small, pinkish lizard had its mouth open as it scuttled around. 

"I take it this tank is made out of some kind of sound-proof glass?" posited Zack.

Milo nodded. "Yep, I read an article about how zookeepers found the perfect material to-" As they were walking away, a younger kid came racing around the corner, only to trip and knock into Milo. He managed to slip on a puddle and went careening into the gecko tank, his elbow leaving a large, expanding crack. They all watched the crack expand, Milo commenting, "Yeah, the article said the material, while perfect for avoiding sound breakage, wasn't the best at blunt impacts."

As Melissa and Zack helped extricate Milo, the tank finally shattered. The three stared at the gecko, who was for the moment silent, seemingly in shock. 

"Hey Milo?"

"Yes, Melissa?"

"The other tanks in here, are they made out of the special sound-proof stuff?"

"Oh no, it was prohibitively expensive, especially when the only reason they would need it would be this situation." At that, the Dutch Singing Gecko started singing, and the other tanks in the room started to crack. 

"I think we should try to escape!" yelled Zack. 

"Hmm, I also think the singing deserves an eight," replied Milo. Rather than trying to yell again, Zack grabbed Milo and Melissa and started running for the doors, the sounds of shattering tanks echoing behind them. 

"I hope Cavendish's proposal is going ok!" called Melissa.

~~~~~~~~

Cavendish and Dakota had paused to get some pretzels when they heard a commotion coming from the other side of the zoo. "Um," said Cavendish. "Should we be worried about that?"

The cart operator stared at them. "Sir, I sell pretzels."

"Ah, we'll be fine," said Dakota, taking his pretzel from the employee. "It's on the other side of the zoo, they'll tell us if we need to do anything." The employee shrugged in minimum wage agreement. 

"Alright. Where to next?"

Dakota pointed at a sign with a long-necked animal on it. "Let's look at the giraffes!" Cavendish nodded as they set off. "Remember when you dressed up as one for Halloween?"

"Vaguely. I seem to also remember that being the time where you invented leap years."

"Oh yeah! What a night." They were soon at the giraffe enclosures, and Cavendish was starting to wonder where exactly he should propose. He reflexively felt the lump in his jacket pocket to make sure it was still there, then noticed that Dakota had vanished. 

"Dakota?" He quickly looked around, finding Dakota waving furiously at him from a line for 'giraffe food', according to the signs. 

"We can feed the giraffes! Isn't that awesome?" Cavendish nodded, but privately wasn't sure he wanted to feed the large beasts behind him. But Dakota was already shoving a packet of brown pellets into his hand, and Cavendish supposed that this was just Dakota helping get him outside of his comfort zone. 

They went up to railing and watched as a giraffe wandered up. Dakota immediately grabbed a handful of pellets and held them up. The giraffe regarded them for a moment, then leaned down and licked them up with its large, purple tongue. Cavendish felt his stomach turn; Dakota, on the other hand, was pointing excitedly at the tongue. "Look, it's purple!"

"I noticed," said Cavendish. 

"You try it, it actually feels kind of nice."

"I highly doubt that," muttered Cavendish, but picked up a few pellets and gingerly held them out. The giraffe leaned down and licked them up, and Cavendish started, the tongue feeling strange on his hand. 

"See? It's weirdly-" Before Dakota could finish, Cavendish felt something wet grab his jacket collar. 

"Excuse me," said Cavendish, trying to turn around. He couldn't get all the way around, though, because there was a giraffe trying to chew on his collar. "Gah!" He started trying to push the head away. 

"I think it likes the green," mused Dakota. 

'I don't care what it likes, I want it off me!" Dakota came over and tried to lure the giraffe away with the pellets, but the giraffe was much more interested in the coat. A second giraffe leaned over and grabbed the other side, and Cavendish was pulled off the ground. Dakota yelped and grabbed his legs, trying to keep him from being taken fully away. 

"Just slip out of the jacket!" called Dakota.

"I'm not just going to give them my-ah!" Cavendish had been reaching up, trying to bat away the giraffes, but had instead slipped out of the jacket, collapsing on Dakota, then the ground. The giraffes lifted the jacket well out of reach, then proceeded to fight over it, quickly tearing it apart. Cavendish watched in horror as a small box fell from the inside pocket onto the ground. 

"What was that?" asked Dakota, pointing at the box. Cavendish looked at Dakota in a panic, not wanting him to realize what the item was. 

"Nothing, really, I'll just go ask if someone can get it-" As he spoke, Cavendish watched as one of the still-fighting giraffes stepped right on the box, squishing it into the dirt. When the foot moved, the box was clearly shattered, and Cavendish was convinced he could see the broken ring as well.

"I don't think you're getting that back," Dakota said sympathetically. "At least, not in one piece. We can still ask, though."

"No. It's not worth it now."

Seeing how dejected Cavendish looked, Dakota slung an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Cavendish. But at least we can still see the rest of the zoo?"

"Yes, indeed. Where-" At that moment, Milo and his friends ran past. "What-"

"Run!" yelled Milo, pointing behind them. Cavendish and Dakota looked to see a tidal wave of snakes, lizards, and other reptiles galloping through the zoo. As people started fleeing, Cavendish noticed a few lizards towering above the rest. 

"I didn't know they made lizards that big."

"They do, and they're bad news," said Dakota, grabbing Cavendish's hand and running. "I think we should finish the zoo another day."

"Agreed," said Cavendish. But as they ran for the exit, zookeepers trying to contain the reptiles, he couldn't help but despair at how poorly this day had gone. He supposed they had waited to propose for this long…

~~~~~~~

After running from the reptiles, Dakota and Cavendish stopped for lunch before heading to the escape room. Dakota had been doing his best to cheer Cavendish up, though he didn't know why his partner was so clearly upset; stuff went wrong all the time, and he wasn't usually this invested in it. Dakota guessed that Cavendish had been trying to do something nice for him, and was disappointed that it hadn't gone well. As they sat and talked at the lunch table, Dakota could feel the ring box in his pocket, and he hoped that the proposal would make Cavendish feel better. 

"So, explain to me this 'escape room' again?" asked Cavendish. 

"Basically, you get put in a room, and you have to solve puzzles and find clues in order to get out."

Cavendish raised an eyebrow. "Do they lock you in there?"

"Um. I don't think they can, legally." Dakota checked the clock on the wall. "We should get going, want to make sure check in goes ok." He watched as Cavendish, who had been looking down at the remains of his meal, visibly rolled his shoulders back and pushed away his worry. "You doin' ok, Cavendish? We can do this another day."

"No, no," Cavendish said hurriedly, smiling. "I'll be ok, I'm excited for this. It was nice of you to plan this for us." Dakota smiled back, and they got up and walked towards the proper street. 

Once they got there, Dakota went up to the counter to check in. "Hi, two for the Private Eye room.” The young adult behind the counter clicked through their computer. 

“What’s the name?”

“Dakota.”

After clicking a few things, the worker said, “Alright, you two are good. We’re just waiting for the rest of the group.”

Dakota’s eyes widened slightly. “I’m sorry, I thought this was the two person room. The site said there were two spots.”

“That would be the time travel room.” Cavendish, who Dakota had not realized had come up behind him, snickered at that. 

“Oh. That’s my bad then. I think I thought the time travel was a little too…on the nose.” 

“Do you want me to see if I can switch your booking to another day for that room?”

Dakota looked at Cavendish, who shrugged. “Nah, I think we’re good.” Dakota said. He was relieved that Cavendish seemed ok with this; he didn’t want to push the proposal further, even if it seemed it would have to wait…unless the group was ok with it. Depending on who it was, they might want to be part of-

The bell on the door rang and a large group of teenagers tumbled into the waiting room. Dakota and Cavendish hurried out of the way as the kids walked up to the counter. “Six for the Private Eye room.”

Near the back of the pack, two teens were talking quietly, clearly having an argument. Dakota caught a snippet; "I can’t believe you talked to your friends about my poem!"

"Oh, so I can’t talk to my friends about you?" 

Dakota sighed. This was not a group to involve in a proposal. He just hoped they wouldn’t turn the whole outing on its head. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Milo, Melissa, and Zack were sitting on a curb a few blocks away from the zoo, having finally managed to escape the tide of reptiles. Milo has produced some granola from his backpack, and they were talking about the incident when Melissa thought of something. 

“Hey, I wonder if Cavendish’s proposal went ok.”

“I think that depends on if he did it before or after the reptile house made a run for it.”

“Well,” said Zack, lying back onto the sidewalk. “The house itself didn’t make a break for it. We’ve seen that happen.”

“Fine, the occupants of the house. And I don’t think there’s a good way to check. No matter what happened, I don’t think they want us checking in.” 

Before anyone could respond, there was a barking, followed by a chatter, followed by a shout. When the kids looked over, they saw Diogee running towards them, and Perry and Doofenshmirtz running after him. 

“Diogee? What are you doing here?” Diogee leapt into Milo’s lap, happily accepting pats from him and his friends. Doof and Perry came up, the former clearly out of breath. 

“Mom asked me-“

“She’s not your mom, Doof,” pointed out Melissa. 

“Whatever. She asked me-ah, one second.” He collapsed onto the curb, head in his hands. Perry chattered again, leaning on a lamppost. Doof held up a finger, signalling he did not yet have the breath to interpret.

“Oh Perry, you know ASL, right?” Perry nodded, then signed, _Your mom asked him to take Diogee to the park_ He signed 'your' with added emphasis, sending a glance at the recovering scientist. 

"I see. And I see it's going about as well I'd expect."

"I will have you know, Milo's friend-girl, that I was asked to bring the dog to the park," said Doof. "And I did that just fine."

"You know my name is Melissa, right?"

"Do you even know my name?" asked Zack. 

Perry chattered and signed, _He called me Phillip for at least a month_ with an eye roll. 

"I'll get there eventually, I suppose a world-hero-scientist type needs to know names better." He finally sat up, having found his breath. "What are you all doing on this curb anyway?"

"We were running from a bunch of reptiles," Zack helpfully supplied. 

"Oh, of course. Silly me for asking."

"We're helping Dakota and Cavendish with their proposal," explained Milo, still petting Diogee. "Cavendish was going to do his at the zoo." 

"That's where the reptiles come in." 

Doof narrowed his eyes. "Were the reptiles _part_ of the proposal?"

"No."

"Well," mused Doofenshmirtz, "it was still probably better than my proposal."

A chatter and signing: _I could have told you the orchestra-inator was a bad idea_ The fingerspelling of 'inator' looked _well_ rehearsed. 

"Well I didn't know you then, did I?" Perry grinned as Doof turned back to the kids. "So how did the proposal go?"

Milo shrugged. "We didn't see it. We were trying to keep a safe distance, and then there were reptiles."

"Reptiles make covertly observing your gay uncles proposing to each other difficult," said Melissa. 

Milo nodded sagely. "Wise words. And now, they're in the second part of their day, and there's not really a good way to 'help'-"

"Especially given the reptiles," interrupted Doof. 

"Exactly. So we're just hanging out, I guess."

Diogee had methodically moved on to Zack, who scratched his neck while asking, "So what's you two's plan for the rest of the day?"

"Now that you've successfully brought Diogee to the park." Melissa smiled innocently, making Doofenshmirtz glare at her, leaving Perry to respond.

_Same as you, hanging out_

"Yeah, we'll be chillin' like a villain." A chatter. "Ok, yes, I'm not a villain anymore." Another chatter. "And you were never a villain, mister 'do gooder', we all know."

Before anyone could respond, a crack echoed down the street. They all looked over to see the storefront of one of the local science museums being shattered and engulfed by some kind of blob erupting from inside. 

As everyone else started getting up, Milo pulled his phone out of his pocket. After a few taps, he grimaced. "Oh no."

"Oh no _what_?"

"I forgot that The TriState Science Play Place asked me to stay away today. They do sometimes when they're trying to do certain types of reactions-"

"What's the blob, Milo?" Zack and Melissa shouted. 

"Well, it was _supposed_ to be a baking soda volcano."

At that, they all started running, the quickly expanded blob chasing them down the street. "Well, bad news," said Melissa. "I don't think anyone is gonna be 'hanging out' right now. Good news-"

"Good news?" yelled Zack.

Ignoring Zack, Melissa continued, "We're on the other side of town from Cavendish and Dakota, so hopefully there isn't anything going wrong."

~~~~~~~~~

Things were going very wrong. They entered the room twenty minutes ago, according to the small screen displaying their time on the wall, and Dakota didn't think they'd get another twenty before something happened that Shakespeare would call 'a little much, don't you think?' with the teens they were supposed to be working with. About half the group had made a half hearted effort at the start, but the most any of them were doing now was grudgingly moving their feet if he or Cavendish needed to get past them. The mood was not lightened by the creepy (albeit fake) decorations making the room look like a murder scene.

Cavendish was currently sitting down, carefully working out a problem on a laminated sheet of paper. Dakota had just opened a lock to find the second-to-last piece they needed for a different puzzle, and was at a loss for what to do next. He went over to Cavendish and leaned on the wall, avoiding a particularly large patch of fake blood. "How're you doing?"

"Hmm?" Cavendish looked up for a second. "Alright. I think I've almost got this one, and it will hopefully lead us to the last piece for the wall over there."

"Yeah…" Dakota slid down the wall to sit on the ground, his hand absentmindedly feeling the ring box he was fairly certain would be staying in his pocket for a while longer. "I'm sorry about all this, Cavendish. We'll try to schedule a better one later, maybe do the actual two person one-"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Cavendish wrote for a bit longer before setting the pen down to look around. "For one thing, I'm having a lovely time with you." Dakota's cheeks went pink as Cavendish continued in a lower voice. "And otherwise, I more pity the children than I am angry."

"Yeah, they'll learn communication soon. Being a kid is hard." Cavendish looked awkward for a second for a second, but before it could be addressed, there was a scream from across the room. 

"I am just expecting you to put some effort into this relationship!"

"I am, Kirsten! I plan all kinds of things to do, I tell you look pretty-"

"That's all you ever say! It doesn't feel like you care-" 

As the argument continued, Cavendish suddenly stood up. "We should speak to them."

It took a moment for Dakota to figure out how to respond, and he felt like he should have taken longer, given his response was a whopping, "Why?"

"Because sometimes, you need someone to remind you how communication works, or else you end up doing something you regret." At that, he looked directly at Dakota, and Dakota's head spun as his heart plunged somewhere to the vicinity of his sneakers. 

"Cavendish, that's not what I was trying to say-"

Cavendish's face softened. "I know. It's what I'm saying." 

"Oh." At that point, Cavendish proceeded to walk across the room, and Dakota simply followed, heart slowly making its way to the proper place. 

"Hello." It took a second for the kids to realize that Cavendish was talking to them. 

One of them said, "Um, did you need help with-"

The girl (presumably named Kirsten), cut in. "I'm sorry, can't you see we're in the middle of something?"

"Would be difficult not to," Dakota said. Kirsten sniffed. 

Kirsten's boyfriend put his feet up on the table, dislodging some case files. "What do you want?"

"Well, we noticed you seem to be having some...issues, and we thought some outside perspective might help."

Kirsten's boyfriend snorted. "That's ridiculous."

Kirsten wheeled on him. "Is it? Because it seems like these two care more about our relationship than you do!"

"No way!"

Cavendish looked over at Dakota. "This could be harder than I imagined."

Dakota threw his hands up. "Look, I'm here to support you, but what did you expect when you decided to play teen psychologist?" As Cavendish shrugged, Dakota looked back at the kids, who were lost again in a shouting match. "Ok, ok, you two. One at a time, you're going to tell the other what you are looking for in this relationship."

They stared. "Isn't he just supposed to know that?"

"No."

"Certainly not now. They don't figure out human telepathy til what, 3145?"

"And even then, it's limited," agreed Cavendish. The kids stared at them. "The point is, you need to voice what you want and what you're feeling."

"If you don't, it's hard to try and fix it."

Kirsten looked downcast. "But, isn't it supposed to be more romantic to just...figure it out?"

Her boyfriend looked thoughtful. "Maybe. But if you don't talk, then there's like, a fifty percent chance of max romance, but a fifty chance of nothing."

"And if you do talk, then there's a much higher chance of much more consistent romance."

"Plus," added Dakota, "the more you talk, the easier it is to do the fun 'knowing what the other is thinking' sometimes." At this point, all the kids were sitting up now, and the discussion widened a little. By the time the buzzer went off, they had gotten no more done on the puzzle, but the kids seemed much calmer than they had when they had come into the room. 

They all made sure they had their possessions and the kids filed out, calling out various thanks as they did. Soon, it was just Dakota and Cavendish in the room, looking around. 

"Well," said Dakota, looking around. "I think we can probably do this room again, if we wanted, given that we finished maybe fifty percent."

"Less than that," said the worker, who had entered to start resetting the room. 

"Fair enough." Dakota offered Cavendish his arm, and they walked out of the room. Dakota thought about proposing on the sidewalk outside, but it felt weird to do so soon after they had counseled a bunch of teenagers surrounded by the fake murder scene. He might as well wait for a better moment. 

Cavendish paused in the empty waiting room and looked over at Dakota. "Do you remember when you suggested this?"

Dakota shrugged. "Vaguely."

"You said something to the effect of 'a fun way to feel like you're saving the world', I believe." Dakota nodded. "Well, there's something I've been learning, over the years. Far too slow, if I'm being honest…" He trailed off for a second. 

"You ok?"

"Yes. Because, I think, I always thought saving the world was a big gesture, a final battle, all drama and grandeur, medals after, the whole nine yards. But, as we've seen tonight, it is much more often a series of small actions, of helping one person, or doing one thing, that adds up to saving the world. So, in a way, we did see that tonight."

Dakota swiped at his eyes. "Stop being so sentimental, and just say I'm great at planning an evening out." Cavendish chuckled. "Now, you want to get something to eat?"

"Soon, yes."

"Great, I've gotta go to the bathroom first."

Cavendish watched as Dakota left, and wandered over to the cork board with fliers of local businesses. 

Though no one would ever know it, they saw the same flyer at exactly the same time Cavendish on the board, Dakota as he exited the bathroom), and also decided at the same time they would just _have_ to get the other there by any means necessary. 

So as soon as Dakota returned, they both immediately claimed they wanted to walk around before eating, too distracted by the new plan forming in their heads to notice the same plan forming in the others. Even though they were heading for the same place, they naturally managed to take twice as long as it should have, as they tried not to telegraph their intentions. 

Soon enough, they made one final turn and there it was: Rita's Burrito Stand, re opening for the first time in five years, and the place where they'd first realized they might actually want to work with the other. 

"Wait," said Dakota, looking at Cavendish, "Is this where you were trying to go too?"

"Indeed, there was a flyer on the wall," said Cavendish. They both started laughing, enough that they held onto each other, tears running down their face. When they finally started breathing again, Dakota suddenly stood on his toes and kissed Cavendish. 

After a moment, Cavendish asked, 'Is this that 'fun knowing what the other is thinking' thing you mentioned."

"Sure is." Dakota poked Cavendish and grinned. "Though you are too tall, it's very inconvenient."

"I will be sure to add it to the list."

"Good. Let's go eat." 

They walked up to the empty counter and saw a familiar face. Dakota leaned over and grinned. "Long time no see, Rita."

She turned around and gasped. "Cavendish, Dakota! What are you doing here?"

"We saw the flyer," explained Cavendish.

"And we wanted the best burritos in the time stream." Rita laughed at that. Dakota had always talked pretty openly about being time travellers (which Cavendish had long since stopped being annoyed about), but Rita obviously thought it was just their own in-joke, which Dakota didn't mind. They chatted a bit more, then ordered and sat down. 

At one point before their food came, Cavendish got up to grab napkins, and as Dakota watched him go, silhouetted by the lights of the burrito stand, he realized the better moment, perhaps even the best moment had arrived; at the time, he certainly hadn't known what would happen when he jumped in that time vehicle and dragged Cavendish here. But this time, years later in either sense, he thought he knew what would happen, what should happen. He quietly slid the box from his pocket and practiced once again what he wanted to say. 

Cavendish walked up to the counter to grab napkins, quietly wishing the ring he'd bought hadn't been destroyed, because what were the odds! They were back here, where things had started, where that first tiny shift in his mind, in his heart, had led to the avalanche that had thrown them together. What better moment to make this commitment, to have this moment together… he looked down, and there next to the napkins, something that made him grin. He had said…

He got back to the table, and Dakota remarked, "What, were the napkins hidden?", his nervousness flying right over Cavendish's equally nervous head. 

"No, I needed to grab something else. Dakota-"

"Cavendish, I wanted to-"

"There's something I-"

"No, sorry, you go,"

"No, no, you go," They stared at each other for what felt like forever. Finally, Dakota started again. 

"Cavendish. Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"You said that."

"I did." It was truly incredible, how he'd been thinking, and practicing, and editing, and all around been thinking obsessively about what he would say, and yet, now, it all disappeared like a school report he'd written the night before. He sighed and looked at Cavendish. "I love you."

Cavendish smiled, and Dakota ached at its familiarity, at its ability to run through him like an electric shock. "I love you too."

As if a switch had been thrown, words finally came. Not the ones he'd planned, and that almost felt right. "We've been together in some capacity now for...I don't know, a long time, I'm not as great with time as I should be."

"Ironic, isn't it?"

"Maybe, or it makes perfect sense. But that's not the point. We've been together a long time, we've done so much. And you, you're...fantastic. I hope you know that. You're brave, and you want to do good in a way I've never seen, and probably won't see again. You're a lot better at good plans then me, clearly, and you keep me from floating off into some world somewhere beyond the fifteenth tangent. I cannot imagine what would have happened over the years if you hadn't been there, and I don't ever want to see what's like without you in the future. Well, our chronological future, I know what it's like in the future-future, obviously, because-"

"Dakota."

"Right, see, this is what I meant about the tangents. What I am attempting to say, is…" He put the ring box on the table and slid it over to Cavendish. "Do ya wanna get married?"

Cavendish reached over and squeezed Dakota's hand before taking the box and opening it. His eyes teared up as he saw the ring, and Dakota quickly said, "I know it's not much, the other Dakotas helped make it, we can get better-"

"It's perfect." Dakota stopped, his breath caught in his throat. "And yes, of course." They stared into each other's eyes before Cavendish hesitantly added, "Though, there is a funny story."

"Oh?"

"I, uh, was also planning to propose to you today. But it feels odd to do it now, after you've done it."

"No! Well, maybe it is, but embrace it! I want you to propose to me now!" Dakota folded his hands on the table and looked expectantly at Cavendish, then winked. "It's up to you, obviously, but-"

"Oh no, I'm going to," said Cavendish. "There's just been some last minute changes."

"Tell me about it," agreed Dakota. 

"Yes. Well, I was intending to propose at the zoo...but besides the lizards, the ring I got for you…" Dakota's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the small object that was trampled in the giraffe enclosure. "Yes. But I think I've found...a workable replacement." He produced the item he purchased from Rita when he'd grabbed napkins and set it on the table. 

Dakota stared at the blue ring pop as Cavendish explained, "Rita had some, and I figured…"

"Cavendish." Dakota gently grabbed Cavendish's face and looked in his eyes. "I love you so much." They then both broke into peals of laughter, once again holding each other for support, and that was the thing; beyond anything else, they were support for the other, in whatever they did, and isn't that the goal?

Eventually, they calmed down, and Cavendish straightened his collar. "Alright, now I should actually propose. For a lot of my life, I've found comfort in rules, and what I considered to be normalcy. And then you took my time vehicle and brought me here, and nothing has been the same. You are bright, and funny, and you've shown me a different way to think, to live. You made me stop and see the world, to let myself experience it. And through all of it, all of the wild, brilliant things we've seen, the best thing I've seen, so many times, was your smile."

Appropriately, Dakota smiled at that. "You're so good with words."

"Thank you." Cavendish took a breath before continuing, "And even though no matter what we call ourselves, who recognizes who and what we are, I'll still see that smile, I would like to humbly request that we build a milestone here, so Dakota, will you marry me?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Dakota gently grabbed Cavendish's collar and they kissed again, longer this time. Finally, they pulled apart, and Dakota grabbed his ring pop and opened it. 

"You understand I am going to eat this, right?"

"I assumed nothing else."

"Good." As Dakota and Cavendish each put their rings on, they jumped a little at a quiet sniffle from a few tables over. 

"That was the sweetest thing I've ever seen," sniffed Rita, who had clearly been trying to bring their food over, but felt awkward about interrupting the moment. She stood up and set the tray on their table. "Let me know if you two need anything, ok?"

"Thanks, Rita."

"Congratulations."

They opened their food and talked, enjoying the last of the day as it faded into a cool night. Right as they were about to finish up, they heard familiar shouting from the river that ran next to Rita's. They looked over to see Milo, Melissa, and Zack floating down the river, clinging to an innertube decorated like a donut. 

Cavendish and Dakota looked at each other. "Looks like we gotta go save those kids." They grinned, and hurried over to the river's edge, rings glittering as the streetlights popped on. Time may have gotten muddled for them, but what did numbers on a calendar matter? They pale in comparison to the real testaments of relationships; the laughter, the tears, the unmistakable rhythms that etched themselves into the other, just as plain as their heartbeats. No matter what was to come, in the past, present, or future (malleable as those were), they had each other, and that? That was what mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thanks for reading! If you wanna chat, I'm one-true-houselight on tumblr! We have a good time!


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